A new king is crowned
It has finally happened. My favorite headset for gaming has been replaced, and it is not surprising that it essentially comes from an upgraded model. For years I have sung the praises of Turtle Beach’s Stealth Pro line. The original was and is still my favorite gaming headset by a country mile, so when I discovered they made a new one, I had to check it out. After spending some ample time with the device, I can safely say, a new king has been crowned. While it does have some drawbacks from the original, the stuff it does improve makes it more than worth the upgrade.
Right out of the gate the thing that stands out is the design change. While I loved its performance, the original Stealth Pro just looked like every other headset. It had a bulky design, though it was quite comfortable. The Stealth Pro II however takes this up a notch. It comes in either white or black, and I actually prefer the white since it accents the more minimal design better.
MSRP: $349.99
Price I’d Pay: $349.99
The new headband is now a mesh that is immediately more comfortable to wear. The band is also much thinner now with a metallic look and brushed metal over the ear cups. Speaking of these new ear cups are a bit more rounded making for a more comfortable fit over the ears. The new, lighter design also aids in longer sessions. Spending hours with it on I rarely felt discomfort.
One of the biggest positives about the original was the hot-swappable battery design. The headset comes with a docking station that homes its extra battery. The ear cup has a magnetic cover that is simple to swap batteries without even taking the headset off. The new one has a thinner battery and is even easier to swap out. It also lasts forever, which is really nice.
The controls on the headset are fairly similar to its predecessor with the ability to adjust volume, game and chat mix, and set active noise cancelling. These buttons can also be customized in the app. Right out of the game the default EQ is decent, but definitely could use some tweaking. The bass is strong with this headset, and for most it will be a bit too much. I ended up setting one of my sliders to bass intensity.
The mic quality is good, but I have one major beef with it. I don’t use the included mic that can be attached often, so most of the time it is in the case. The Stealth II has a built-in mic that is turned on by default upon powering up the headset. This means when I first turn it on, I get outside noise that can pick up a fly fart from a mile away. This thing is powerful, and it cannot be set to turn off by default. I have to then open the app and disable it each and every time I power up the device. Not a game breaker, but definitely annoying.
The other big feature to this headset is its crossplay compatibility. This headset can work across multiple devices at the same time. It comes with an extra dongle in the box, but you can also order more if you want it to work across even more devices. This works flawlessly with the press of a button on the headset. I set the dock to my XBOX and the dongle on my PS5 and was able to hot swap back and forth with ease. This is a great feature.
What is weird though is that like most headsets, this one comes in two flavors XBOX and PS5. The PS5 version does NOT work with XBOX, but the XBOX one works with PS5. Make it make sense. So, if you plan to pick this up, I highly recommend going with the XBOX version simply because of the extra capabilities.
Overall, Turtle Beach continues to be my go-to recommendation for more gamers when it comes to headsets. I have used the Stealth Pro series exclusively now for years, and if they keep upgrading the tech I doubt that will ever change. I use a gaming headset almost daily and this is by far my top recommendation.
Review copy of game provided by publisher.